Memorial held to honor life of Saginaw Co. man

SAGINAW, Mich. (WNEM) – A memorial was held in downtown Saginaw on Monday evening to honor the life of Midonyis Cosby, whose body was recently pulled from the Saginaw River.

“They should have done him better and kept him longer to observe him at the hospital but they didn’t and now I’m here crying on the news and that’s not fair,” said Cosby’s sister, Chaya Cosby.

Family and friends of Midonyis Cosby, a 21-year-old whose body was found in the Saginaw River on Jan. 6, gather behind the Temple Theater in downtown Saginaw, releasing balloons and lanterns to honor Cosby’s life.

“Our heart is so heavy right now and broken, you know, we haven’t experienced something like this in our family. In a long time, especially this deep,” said Cosby’s aunt, Kealyonne Jones.

Cosby disappeared on Nov. 5 after being picked up from a mental health institution where he was seeking treatment. His family said he suffered from schizophrenia and PTSD.

“My baby should still be here. He should still be at HealthSource or getting treatment where he asked for. That’s what everybody keeps missing. He asked for help,” said Cosby’s mother, Kinyata Cosby.

The family plans to create a foundation in Cosby’s name to promote mental health awareness and to prevent another family from going through the same trauma.

“Please listen to black children’s mental health and don’t brush them off,” said Chaya Cosby.

“What I really want out this foundation and hoping for and praying for, for anybody out there that is battling mental health or have a loved one battling mental health, that Saginaw city, the county of Saginaw, do better at searching for a missing person, especially someone with mental health,” said Jones.

“Doing it for Donyis and nobody’s gonna ever, hopefully we can save somebody from ever having to go through this again,” said Kinyata Cosby.

Another group released balloons and lanterns at the Holland Street bridge where Cosby was last seen.

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